While credit card fraud thankfully remains the rule, rather than the exception, we like to post occasional news items here about card fraud schemes, for their instructive value. In other words, what they can they teach our merchants about making their own transactions safer?
Year: 2013
….And Yet, M-Commerce — and M-Everything — Is Still On the Rise!
The headline is a direct follow up to last week’s blog post, which concerned one merchant’s unfortunate overreaction to “showrooming,” that mobile-device enabled method of seeing a product “live” in a store, then turning to a handy screen to see if you can get it for a better price.
What Not To Do In Response to “M-Commerce”
Sometimes this happens with the newfangled habit of “showrooming.” We’ve written about it here before, and as a merchant with customers, you should keep the phrase on your radar. “Showrooming” refers to the practice of customers entering a store, looking at items “live,” as it were (which is to say, displayed on your shelves — if you’re one of those with an offline location that has shelves), then checking their phones quickly to see if they can get it for a better price — once your own showroom display has actually helped make the sale.
More on the Young, and their Credit
A few weeks back, we mentioned some conflicting reports on young adults and their use of credit. On the one hand, they were getting deeper in debt — due to sluggish job prospects and increased school costs, among other things. On the other, they were generally preferring to use debit cards, instead of credit cards, to pay for things where plastic was required, to avoid piling up even more debt.
First Data Shows Upticks in Card Use — of all kinds
One the one hand, we like to tout February as a “second season” to attract shoppers, after the holidays — what with Super Bowl weekend followed by Valentine’s Day. And then there’s Presidents’ Day weekend, with its traveling and “get away” plans. Add it all up, and tends to mean active customers for a wide array of businesses.
AVPS In Your Corner For Charge Disputes
Suddenly, there are news stories about credit card disputes everywhere. Fox Business had one about consumer complaints, but those aren’t the same thing. Or rather, we might consider charge disputes a subset of overall “complaints,” which could include everything from bad service, to not crediting a payment, to not honoring a stated interest rate, and more.
A Guide to the Strawhecker Group’s Swipe Fee Graphic
The Strawhecker Group is an advisory/consulting group for us in the Payments Industry. And they’ve recently come up with a compelling infographic explaining swipe fees — what they are, and where they go.
Navigating New Sales Tax Trends with AVP Solutions
As part of our ongoing efforts to keep you updated on how saying the phrase “just charge it!” is changing for your very customers, we wanted to alert you to the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013. It specifies that states need to simplify their own tax systems, so they can collect sales tax from out-of-state merchants, who are selling to their citizens online.
Valentine’s Day Spending Hits New Highs in 2024
A new survey by the National Retail Federation says that American’s will spend more than $18 billion on Valentine’s Day, making it one of our “spendiest” holidays, close on the heels of Christmas and Halloween. According to the NRF, the average outlay will be around $130 a person — a $5 uptick from last year, though the “average” for men actually clocks in at around $176, while for women it hovers around $90.
